Ghosts are everywhere in
California this Halloween season. From
commercial scare experiences at theme parks such
as Knotts Berry Farm and Disneyland to ghost
tours, haunted mansions and hotel accommodations
with ghosts provided free of charge, it’s the
perfect time to venture out and experience
haunted California.
Where’s the ghost? While it isn’t clear what
ghosts are, thousands of people report seeing
them and feeling their presence. Scientists
search for methods to effectively test theories
about reported paranormal phenomena such as
ghost hauntings but have refrained from drawing solid
conclusions and explanations to this mystery.
One woman named Mary Ann is among the list of
priests, psychics and ghost hunters called to
release spirits believed to inhabit houses and
businesses. Mary Ann claims that when a person
dies, he or she has three or four days to enter
a "white light" that is the path to judgment.
Somewhere inside the light, she believes, a
person's ultimate fate is decided. Some people
aren't ready to leave earth yet, though, and use
their free will to hang around, she said.
"That white light is presented to you the very
second that you die," Mary Ann said. "In your
last breath, that white light is there. And
everybody stays around for their funeral,
everybody. That person in the casket—their
spirit is right above the feet. They hear
everything that goes on, they see everything
that goes on. They check out their flowers, see
who's there, who's not there."
Some ghosts stick around to say goodbye to those
they love. Some, like a young father who dies
suddenly, want to take care of the living, she
said. While they don't all cause trouble, they
usually are unwelcome. She claims to have
cleansed churches, courthouses and hospital
surgical rooms. She says she also has worked for
police departments, helping to solve murders by
communicating with the dead victim.
If such claims seem crazy or unbelievable,
there's incredible fascination with ghosts and
it doesn't seem to be disappearing.
Here’s a list of ghost ideas for you to brave on
your next vacation outing:
Alcatraz
The prison on Alcatraz Island in San
Francisco Bay was opened in 1933 as a
maximum-security facility for America's most
dangerous criminals. Inmates were lucky to spend
one hour a day outside their cells, and those
violating prison rules could spend months of
solitary confinement, sometimes in the Hole, a
tiny cell with no light. Though the prison
closed in 1963, it re-opened to the public as a
national park site with guided tours that
sometimes include unexplained sounds and eerie
areas consumed with blasts of cold air. Several
visitors have reported hearing moans, agonized
cries and chains rattling in cell blocks. A
psychic who visited reported seeing the ghost of
Abie Maldowitz, a mob hitman nicknamed Butcher,
who was killed by a fellow inmate in the laundry
area of cell block C. Visitors have reported the
sound of phantom banjo music coming from rooms
that once housed Al Capone. Tickets for day and
night tours are available from
www.blueandgoldfleet.com
Calico Ghost Town
Yermo, CA. 92398. Call: (800)
TO-CALICO. www.calicotown.com
Visit Maggies Haunted Mine (if
you dare), China Town's Haunted Ruins, &
Calico's Terror Silver Train. The last weekend
in October includes a special Ghost Haunt event
with Pumpkin Carving, Costume Contests,
Trick-or-Treat, Halloween Characters and
Inflatables and Ghost Stories in the afternoon
and evening hours.
The Queen Mary
1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, Ca 90802. Call:
Phone (562) 435-3511. www.queenmary.com
Throughout the years, Queen Mary employees,
guests and visiting psychics have reported
unexplainable events and paranormal activity
aboard the ship. The grandest ocean liner ever
built was host to the world's rich and famous
during the 1930s. With the outbreak of World War
II, the Queen Mary was transformed into a
troopship overnight. By the end of the war, "The
Grey Ghost," as she was fondly called, had
carried more than 800,000 troops, traveled more
than 600,000 miles and played a significant role
in virtually every major Allied campaign. In
February 1946 she began her "Bride and Baby
Voyages" and transported more than 22,000 war
brides and their children to the United States
and Canada. She even set a standing record for
the most passengers carried in one crossing -
more than 16,000 troops and crew! Tours include
information and locations of ghostly occurrences
in this massive haunted vessel! Every
October the Queen Mary in Long Beach transforms
into “The Most Terrifying Place On Earth” for
Shipwreck, the Queen Mary’s Halloween Terror
Fest. Admission includes unlimited entry to all
Mazes, the Boiler Room Club, featuring Live
Bands, plus the huge 3 level Dance Party in the
Queen Mary’s Exhibit Hall.
Winchester Mystery House
525 South Winchester Boulevard, San Jose, CA
95128. Phone: (408) 247-2101
www.winchestermysteryhouse.com
Winchester Mystery House in San Jose is named
after a wealthy widow Sarah L. Winchester. She
began a construction project of such magnitude
in 1884 that it was to occupy the lives of
carpenters and craftsmen until her death
thirty-eight years later. The Victorian mansion,
designed and built by the Winchester Rifle
heiress, is filled with so many unexplained
oddities, that it has come to be known as the
Winchester Mystery House. Sarah Winchester built
a home that is an architectural marvel. This
160-room Victorian mansion had three working
elevators and 47 fireplaces. Sarah held séances
to receive instructions on building the mansion
from spirits of those killed by Winchester guns.
Many visitors to the house and staff report
unusual and unexplained sightings and sounds.
The mansion is open year round and includes
special events such as flashlight tours on
Friday the 13th (Sara Winchester's favorite
number).
Knott's Berry Farm
8039 Beach Boulevard, Buena Park, CA 90620.
Phone: (714) 220-5200.
www.knotts.com/park/calendar/halloweenhaunt.shtml
Every October since 1973, Knott's Berry Farm has
hideously transformed itself into Knott's Scary
Farm® to host the world's first and most famous
theme park Halloween event. Knott's employs a
staff of professional "scare-masters" whose
primary responsibility is to come up with novel
new ways to scare, startle and severely terrify
our guests.
Haunted Historic Miners’ Cabin
The Historic Miners’ Cabin on Highway 49 in
Grizzly Flatts.
Available for rent on a daily basis. Call:
Innkeepers Scott and Laurie at 530-626-0307.
Grizzly Flats, California is located along
Highway 49 that winds through California Gold
Country where gold was discovered and mined over
150 years ago. Built in 1879, Historic Miners’
Cabin has been officially certified haunted.
Nancy Bradley, renown psychic, visited the cabin
and reported it “very haunted with lots of
activity.” Bradley observed the ghostly presence
of several men, a couple of women and a child.
“There is a vortex in the kitchen,” she said.
San Juan Capistrano,
California
Los Rios Street, one of the oldest
residential streets in California still in
existence, receives many reports of ghosts
including
the white lady who appears near the giant pepper
tree north of the Rios Adobe and O'Neill Museum,
where the ghost of Albert Pryor is sometimes
seen wearing a gray sweater, rocking on the
front porch. The Rios Adobe has ghostly
footsteps and The Ramos House, now a restaurant,
was once known for its "cold room" and
poltergeist activity. In Mission San Juan
Capistrano, a faceless monk roams the corridors
at night, his sandals echoing through the
stillness as he hurries away. There's even a
headless soldier standing guard near the
garrison building, sounding bells that ring
mysteriously in the night.
Ventura Haunted Ghost Tours
Ventura is home to the prolific ghost
researcher and author, Richard Senate. For
years, he's provided tours of Ventura's many
haunted buildings and told visitors about the
ghosts that inhabit them. While Senate recently
retired and also became ill, the City of Ventura
continues to support his research through ghost
tours. Events include Ghost Bus Tour of Haunted
Roadways sponsored by the City of Ventura on
October 23. Tour starts at City Hall steps, 501
Poli St. Call: 805-658-4726. Revel in stories
of ghosts and poltergeists from Ventura's past
in this bus tour to purported ghost sites,
including Olivas and Ortega Adobes as well as
Cemetery Park. Bring a warm coat and a
flashlight. Admission:$12. Ventura's
Haunted Heritage will be held on October 30,
2004 from 7 to 9 p.m. Phone: 805-658-4726.
Admission: $9. www.ci.ventura.ca.us
Richard Senate's web
site: www.ghost-stalker.com
California Ghost Haunting Tours
Ghosts
Halloween Costumes
Knott's Berry Farm Halloween Haunt
October Ghost & Halloween Fairs, Festivals and
Events
Auburn Ghosts
Calico Ghost Town
in Yermo
Gaviota State Park
Ghosts of Placerville
Greystone Mansion - Beverly Hills
Monterey Hotel
Moss Beach Distiller (Blue Lady ghost)
San Diego - Thomas Whaley Mansion
San Francisco’s
Alcatraz
San Jose’s
Winchester Mystery House
Queen Mary Ship in
Long Beach
San Juan
Capistrano Mission District
Ventura’s
City-Sponsored Ghost Tours
